This is the view I enjoy every morning over breakfast. Can you believe it? I'm so lucky to have found this hotel.
It seems pastiche, but the old town where I'm based (Sultanahmet) really is made up of little cobbled streets where guys sit at low tables, drink tea, and play backgammon. You might imagine they're performing for the tourists but this is really how people live.
Oh and if South Korea was where all the women were touchy-feely, here it's the men. They're all over each other. I've even been pawed by strangers on the street. You can imagine how I felt about that, what with my intimacy issues and all.
More food!
This was my first taste of Turkish coffee and baklava pastries.
The nutty looking one was the best. Dad, it was just like one of your almond slices without the jam. Very tasty. The green one held a surprise - inside was a whole, fresh raspberry. Delicious. The third one was just sugar and crushed almonds. It reminded me of Japanese sugar cakes eaten during tea ceremony. I wasn't wild about that one.
As an aside, I haven't seen a single Turk drinking Turkish coffee . It's only the foreigners. All the Turkish people are drinking sweet tea from a small glass. I'm starting to think the whole Turkish coffee thing is a big joke. The locals are laughing at us crazy tourists as they get us to choke back half an espresso cup of coffee grounds!
A Turkish tanning salon
I'm finally back in a city where I can enjoy walking: In Okinawa it rained too much, in South Asia the air was too dirty, in Dubai it was too hot. But here in old Istanbul it's strolling heaven.
Even though I wasn't that comfortable walking in the other places I have visited, I've still managed to cover some ground. In the last seven days I have walked 117,703 steps. That's 76.48 kilometers. And that means I have burned 4539.9 calories - almost two days worth of food!
The most enjoyable walk I've had so far in Turkey was a long morning stroll by the sea side. The sun was shining, the waves were lapping, the fishing boats were fishing???
Along the rocky banks local people have built little sunny alcoves out of the stones. Isn't it a good idea? Some people even bring along parasols and little picnics, but most men just strip off into their underpants and dive in - no towel with them or anything. They dry off in their little tanning salon. Can you imagine the old fellas trying that in Dublin's forty-foot. They'd get hypothermia!
The Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet, Istanbul
I visited the famous Blue Mosque today. It's interesting to note cultural differences within Islam. In Turkish mosques like the Blue Mosque, the Sultan would pray in a special gold-plated lodge separated from all the other prayer mats. In Dubai, however, it was explained to me that even a sheik must use the same floor mats as the rest of the congregation. All are the same before God.
The light quality
Here in Istanbul I definitely feel like I'm back in Europe. The call to prayer from the mosques does draw your mind back East every now and then, but overall the city gives a Mediterranean impression. I think it's the light. In South Asia and the Middle East, all the trees have big leaves. But here the trees have small leaves. The sun shines through them speckling the ground. Every street scene looks like an Impressionist painting. The light here is soft and beautiful.
Not a doctored photo
I thought I was very lucky to catch this photo of one of the minarets at the Blue Mosque. A prize to anyone who can see what arty little thing I was trying to achieve.
Sunset over Ayasofya
I took this from the same roof-garden. A nice drink as the sun goes down and I'm a happy man.
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